As a member of Eagan Rotary since 1996, Quinn Hutson has been a strong advocate for the Ethics Workshop created by the club in 1994.

It’s an eight-hour, ethical decision-making experience for high school students designed by Dr. Ken Goodpaster, Koch Chair of Ethics at the University of St. Thomas. The program defines ethical decision-making and presents a business leadership dilemma. Initially created for MBA students, the club and Goodpaster adapted it into a Rotarian led format for high school juniors and seniors.

For 10 years, Hutson, a CNH Architects principal, has been a co-leader. He helped spread the workshop model to other schools and trained other clubs to conduct the workshops in their own communities.

“The ethics workshop is my first choice as a Rotarian to give back to the community,” said Hutson. “The students are amazing, and our society needs more training in ethical decision-making.”

Over its 25 years, the workshop has engaged nearly 5,000 students. More than 70 workshops were presented, engaging Eagan Rotary with more than 30 different high schools.

Hutson is one of three main instructors for the workshop and co-chairs the planning committee for Eagan Rotary, donating more than 75 hours per year to the program.

Photo: Quinn Hutson, third from left, has been a key leader with the Eagan Rotary program for a decade.